Press Association
Saturday 11th February 2012
Justice Secretary Jack Straw has met James Bulger's mother to discuss the return to prison of her son's killer Jon Venables, a Ministry of Justice spokesman confirmed.
Mr Straw, who has repeatedly refused to confirm the details of why Venables was returned to custody, met Denise Fergus in his Blackburn constituency.
A spokesman said: "We can confirm that the Justice Secretary had a private meeting with Mrs Fergus and her husband in Blackburn on Thursday 11 March."
Mrs Fergus asked for a meeting last week after it was revealed Venables had been returned to prison. Reports have claimed he is being investigated over allegations of child pornography.
The meeting with Mr Straw, at Blackburn Town Hall, lasted about an hour. A spokesman for Mr Straw said the Justice Secretary tried to answer Mrs Fergus's questions "as fully as he could".
Mr Straw has said he cannot reveal the exact reasons for the decision to return Venables to prison, saying only there were "very serious allegations" against him.
In a statement to MPs on Monday, he said he fully understood the concerns about the information being made public. But he said it would not be "in the interests of justice" to make more information public.
He told the House of Commons: "It is critical that if charges do follow, it is possible to hold a fair trial - fair for the defence and fair for the prosecution."
Mr Straw has also defended the anonymity given to Venables, Robert Thompson and other infamous killers, saying they faced the threat of the "lynch mob" and needed protection. And he has promised a major probe into how Venables was managed since his release if charges are brought.
Both Venables and Thompson were released from custody in 2001 with new identities. They were 10 when they killed the two-year-old boy and left his body on a railway line in Bootle, Merseyside.
